TAFE's strategic leadership role in regional Australia

TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) welcomes the Australian Government's commitment to 'A Better Deal for Regional Australia'. The strategies envisioned by the Government call for place-based leadership to drive an integrated approach to regional renewal and development. TAFE's active engagement will be critical to the success of this multidimensional and complex program. This paper discusses the ways in which regional TAFE Institutes can lead and contribute to this program and proposes a number of principles as the basis for a TDA regional policy. These principles are based on the national priorities which TDA identified for Australian Government engagement with TAFE in its Election Manifesto of 2010. The six TDA policy priorities are: (1) a connected tertiary education sector; (2) funding to overcome skills shortages and a dedicated Structural Adjustment Fund for TAFE Institutes; (3) a simpler and more effective quality assurance regulatory system; (4) the engagement of young people in vocational skills; (5) a special focus on the resources sector; and (6) a revitalised international student market. These priorities have been contextualised, and in some cases broadened in scope, to address the specific education and skill needs of Australia's regions.

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